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Several of our team members attended the Chinatown Health Clinic Foundation’s 47th Annual Gala on May 8, which was held to raise funds to improve access to quality healthcare for underserved Asian Americans and other vulnerable populations.

ESKW/A designed the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center (CBWCHC) for adaptive reuse (at right; interior photos at post ending) in 2003, which was our fourth commission undertaken for the foundation. We also helped sponsor the gala and are currently working with CBWCHC on a new construction clinic project in Flushing.

Charles B. Wang donated $2.5 million at the event, while those in attendance bid several thousands on a variety of outings and goods. Even those who didn’t win an auction took home handsome prizes of their own in a swag bag, which included Hi-Chews, fortune cookies, crackers, ramen, and a stress ball.

The event’s attendance was staggering, as 800 guests filled the enormous Jing Fong restaurant on Elizabeth Street. Aries Dela Cruz, Manhattan’s regional representative for Governor Cuomo, gave opening remarks about how encouraging it was to see so many dedicated to a cause that began with so few supporters decades ago. Jane T. Eng, Esq., president and CEO of CBWCHC, energized the crowd by asserting that healthcare access should be universal, which resounded with our team.

“I was inspired to see so many healthcare providers talking about healthcare as a right, not a privilege. It was clear that everyone in the room felt a deep sense of pride for the work that they do and the marginalized communities they serve,” said Michael Kowalchuk, one of our architectural designers. “The night was a wonderful way to celebrate the ongoing progress and resiliency of the Chinese American community, one of New York City’s most vibrant immigrant communities.”

Dr. Sherry Huang and Dr. Angela Chan, from CBWCHC’s pediatrics department, resonated with me specifically by stressing the importance of providing those with specials needs the essential healthcare they require. They played a video of testimonials from family members of people with disabilities, describing how the clinic’s care and community has supported and empowered them. My brother was born with cerebral palsy, so that part of the night was particularly powerful for me.

Our relationship with the foundation began some 36 years ago when Harold and Judy Edelman first worked with the CBWCHC to develop their initial clinics. Last Tuesday night was full of reminders that we’re doing good work, but that the work isn’t over. It was also a night full of great food, discussion, and entertainment—so we thank the Chinatown Health Clinic Foundation for hosting, and look to continue building on this relationship for several more decades to come.

Last week, four of our team members attended Design for Healthy Living, hosted by the Center for Active Design (CfAD) in collaboration with the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC). In the spirit of the event, we walked the few blocks to 31 Chambers Street where it was held.

The interactive session included lectures, breakouts, and feedback— all focused on the intersection of design and health. Our team attended because we know architects are in a unique position to affect positive health outcomes in several ways, and because ESKW/A has been following the CfAD since FitCity 1 in 2006 (more on that later).

The Center for Active Design’s goals are to support the creation of environments that improve productivity, community engagement, and civic trust—while reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and social isolation. They put a strong emphasis on providing these types of spaces and amenities to some of the population’s most vulnerable groups, including at-risk youth, older adults, and those affected by homelessness and mental health issues, among others. This hit home for us.

Much of ESKW/A’s work—from affordable and supporting housing to community centers and schools—puts CfAD’s philosophies into action. In fact, our New Settlement Community Campus project was featured in one of the presentation’s slides (more on that later, too). We found the event valuable not only because it dealt with issues central to our core mission, but also because it provided the opportunity for discussion as opposed to feeling somewhat one-sided.

Some of the most compelling takeaways indeed came from attendees who participated in the sharing session. One designer remarked that he saw a lot of active design strategies in the nicer neighborhoods of Manhattan but stressed the need for “equity across boroughs.” Another remarked that active design is important, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of accessible design. Perhaps the most captivating story came from a man who does work in Brownsville, Brooklyn, where conflict between public housing developments have had a grave impact on the neighborhood. To counter this, his organization worked to beautify the public space between the two and create a place each development is connected to through murals. He stressed that good design principles are most needed in communities that have been historically disenfranchised, marginalized, and overlooked.

“The Brownsville project resonated. As design professionals, we have an obligation to the community. As our work may be pinpointed to one building, we should be aware of the surroundings of a project and respond with compassion,” Suncica Jasarovic, one of our architectural designers, said after the event. “Our job as architects is to design for the health and well-being of humanity.”

Our very own Kimberly Murphy attended the first FitCity in 2006 and has been supporting the agenda ever since. She even spoke at the 10th annual event in 2016. Here are some slides from her presentation about New Settlement Community Campus, a project that exemplifies active design:

These things continue to matter to her and to us today. Below you’ll see she’s still “rocking” and reading to children at the New Settlement Community Campus. The project—a collaboration among the Settlement Housing Fund, NYC Department of Education, NYC School Construction Authority, and ESKW/A and Dattner Architects—was also featured in last week’s presentation. CfAD applauded the use of color to support wayfinding and locate programming in a building with many functions: a public school, D75 school, and intermediate/high school, in addition to a community center.

“Healthy design and evidence-based research are especially relevant to our work, considering that our clients serve a range of at-risk New Yorkers: seniors, homeless or formerly homeless, children, mentally ill, people living at or below the poverty line,” explained Kimberly. “Our work has always taken a humanistic approach, and to hear that designers have a responsibility as health professionals is very interesting. It boosts the importance of design strategies that we consider best practices and pushes our strategies to new levels.”

We thank the CfAD and NYC DDC for their continued work in this arena, and for a great afternoon (and for the cheese)! To learn more about other projects of ours that address community concerns, click the links below:

At first glance it may look like a corner of Dante’s inferno—but this is, in fact, our construction team, hard at work at 2865 Creston Avenue in the Bronx.

They drill, excavate, clear rock, and pour concrete. At right, they are forming what will become the bottom of an elevator pit.

They’ve been working nights to make up for time lost to an unusually harsh winter (but this is a dedicated bunch, and we worked through it—proof below).

The foundation wall sits directly against the bedrock (below right). The team is taking great pains to keep the awesome rock outcropping (below left). The rock, like much of NYC’s bedrock, is gneiss (pronounced ‘nice’). On this site, rock hardness ranges from NYC bedrock classification 1B (medium hard rock) to weathered portions classified as 1D (soft rock). Hardness is a crucial attribute of rock because a building foundation can be supported on hard rock, while soft rock may not have the capacity to take the load. Also, when excavating rock, the softer it is, the faster it goes.

Bedrock at this site is mapped as the Proterozoic-Eon Fordham Gneiss, which is typically a banded gneiss to schistose gneiss with pegmatite intrusions. During the Pleistocene epoch, a series of glaciers advanced and retreated across the New York City area, initially scouring soils down to the bedrock. In the Bronx, bedrock is often exposed at the ground surface or covered with a thin layer of glacial soil such as glacial till or outwash sand. Since the retreat of the last glacier, roughly 20,000 years ago, exposed and near-surface bedrock has been subjected to weathering, particularly along joints and foliations in the rock. (Information in the preceding paragraph came from Geotechnical Report dated 12/17/2015 by Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers.)

At the other end of the site, a gabion wall is rising. It is made of steel wire baskets filled with pieces of rock excavated on site. Not only is it beautiful (at least in our opinion), but it is made of natural material, and by using what was already onsite, less material will be carted away, and less has to be trucked in. When finished, the gabion wall will be a 20-foot high retaining wall at the rear yard of the building.

Creston Avenue gabion wall

Stay tuned for more updates!

Marcella and Ruth

Ruth Dresdner, AIA, LEED AP, has been an architect at ESKW/A for almost a year and has taken on two of our largest new housing construction projects. She is project manager on both 2865 Creston Avenue for Project Renewal, and the School Street Residences in Yonkers for St. Joseph’s Community Medical Centers.

Marcella Yee, AIA, has been with ESKW/A since 2014 and has been a lead team member on the Creston project since the design phase. She was an instrumental architectural team member on the successful RFP for Archer Green with particular focus on façade development and detailing during design and construction documents. She is also project manager on shelter renovation projects for BRC.

The changing model of how kids can best learn in New York City has brought charter schools to the forefront of the discussion. This New York Times article uses the Bronx Community Charter School as a flashpoint for looking at the challenges faced by schools operating outside the mold and functioning under non-traditional funding structures.